As the clock read 23:00, yesterday, the summer transfer window of 2016/17 season finally came to a close amongst the mad rush to submit the ‘Deal Sheets’ of the clubs so that they can get the grace period of 2 hours (1 hour for international transfers) to complete the deals. It was a crazy deadline day with 45 deals being successfully negotiated on the deadline from the Premier League clubs as the total spending for the window crossed the 1billion mark for the first time in history. Just like all the others, Southampton played its part in the window making sure they utilize it fully and did manage to close down a fair share of deals. Let’s take a look at how the Saints fared in this window.
Ins
Nathan Redmond – Norwich, £11m.
Pierre Emile Hojberg – Bayern Munich, £12.6m
Kieran Freeman – Dundee United, Compensation
Alex McCarthy – Crystal Palace, £4m
Jeremy Pied – Nice, Free
Sofiane Boufal – Lille, £16m
Outs
Sadio Mane – Liverpool, £36m
Victor Wanyama – Tottenham Hotspur, £11m
Juanmi – Real Sociedad, £5m
Gaston Ramirez – Middlesbrough, Free
Kelvin Davies – Retired
Joe Lea – Yeovil, Free
Jason McCarthy – Walsall, Loan
Graziano Pelle – Shandong Luneng, £12m
Sam Gallagher – Blackburn, Loan
Jordan Turnball – Coventry, Undisclosed
Bevis Mugabi – Yeovil, Free
Verdict
Southampton started the window with a host of changes once again as Ronald Koeman left to join Everton. While the club did pretty well in installing an established manager in Frenchman Claude Puel, the situation became challenging even more with the departure of two key players in Sadio Mane and Victor Wanyama.
Puel had to identify his targets quickly even before he got a good feel of the players and has been very successful as well with his targets. Closing deals for Nathan Redmond and Emile Højbjerg gave him an early impetus. The manager did bolster his midfield with the Bayern Munich youngster and the addition of the experienced Jeremy Pied was a shrewd move which will serve the team well without a doubt.
The Hampshire club has actually a very decent midfield with quality players and the attacking line has the likes of the ever reliable Shane Long with the talented Charlie Austin and Jay Rodriguez who did score 15 league goals for the Saints in 2013/14. The acquisition of Sofiane Boufal from Lille for a club transfer record fee is a one to watch out for, something which has already got the fans excited.
Overall, with a squad more than capable of giving any opposition a real fight on the pitch, Southampton can feel pretty content with their transfer business. Puel would be evaluating his squad within the next four months and assess if he needs reinforcements or not, while they seem to be better off with another front-man, the club has enough depth to negotiate their list of fixtures until the Winter transfer window is open which will be utilized accordingly if the club feels like strengthening their ranks more.
At the moment, The Saints can look forward to get some points on board as they do have the personnel to help the squad achieve its immediate targets.
Rating: 7/10
